Embattled state elections chief stepping down

The state’s top election official says he will no longer pursue efforts to keep his job.

In a letter sent to members of the panel Monday, Wisconsin Elections Commission interim administrator Mike Haas said he plans to leave the agency to pursue other opportunities, and urged commissioners to appoint a new interim administrator when they meet this Friday. The decision comes after the state Senate voted earlier this year to reject Haas’ confirmation to a job he had held for more than year, citing concerns about his ability to be impartial.

The commission has so far resisted the Senate’s call to remove Haas, voting to retain him shortly after lawmakers rejected his nomination. The stand-off could have resulted in lawmakers acting on their own to appoint a new administrator and possible legal action – something Haas said in his letter that he wants to avoid, because of the potential effect it could have on the agency and its request for more resources. “In order to remove any doubt and further controversy regarding the Administrator position, and to preserve the Commission’s ability to choose its own Administrator, I am requesting that the Commission appoint another individual to the position,” he wrote.

Haas is also throwing his support behind the commission naming current Assistant Administrator Meagan Wolfe as the new interim administrator.